“There is a lack of belief that there is something better in another state,” he said.
Slower household formation is lowering home ownership. Just 36.2 percent of Americans under 35 owned a home in the first quarter, compared with 41.3 percent in 2008’s first quarter, the Census Bureau reported April 29.
Home South Communities in Suwanee, Georgia, which will build about 100 homes this year, has abandoned the first-time home-buyer market amid declining demand among millennials, said Stephen Palmer, manager and chief financial officer.
College graduates earning “well below their expectations,” are less likely to move because of social ties and have put off settling down into marriages, he said.
Social Network
In Queens, Yang said social networks played a role in his decision to keep his job search focused on the local market. “All of my friends are in New York, all my relatives, my family,” he said.
Had he moved to New Jersey, where the lab job paid $15 an hour, rent near $1,000 a month would have eaten up much of his income, he said. Alternatively, a commute through city traffic would have been hellish, with tolls, gas and the cost of leasing a car also taking away from his bottom line.
Staying put “goes to the tough financial situation many 20- and early 30-somethings are struggling with,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “As the job market continues to pick up, this group should benefit, form households, and move. This will be a tell that the economy is finally off and running.”